Road illumination



May 14, 1929. N. M. MICHAILOVSKY ROAD ILLUMINATION Filed.v Nov. 2, 1926 INVENTOR' ATEIKORNEY Patented MQ 14, 1929.

UNITED STATES NICHOLAS M. MICHAILOVSKY, 01' ,NEW YORK, N.

ROAD ILLUMINATION.

Application filed November 2, 1986. Serial No. 145,758.

The principal objects of this invention are to secure the proper illumination of roadways without throwing blinding or confusing lights into the eyes of motorists and pedestrians.

These objects are attained by confining the light to the actual surface to be illuminated and in such a way that the source of the light will not be observable at the normal level of the eyes to a pedestrian or motorist.

Other desirable objects and the novel features of construction, combinations and relations of parts by which the same are attained are set forth in the following specification.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification illustrate both the problem in illumination and several of the solutions accomplished by this invention. Thus,

Figure 1 is a view illustrating diagrammatically how for automobile driving. the beam of light must be thrown forwardly a considerable distance in front of the car and how the entire top of this beam must be shielded to a point considerably in advance of the car to hold the light down to a horizontal plane below the eyes of possible observers.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a multitude light shield construction offering one practical solution of the problem.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of this particular form of the invention.

Figure 4 is a front view of this particular lamp.

Figures 5 and 6 are front views of modified forms of this lamp.

The ideal condition to be attained in road illumination, as illustrated in Figure 1, is to direct all the light down onto the roadway in a beam far enough ahead of the vehicle for safe driving and to shield all that light at the source above a horizontal plane represented by the line H, below the normal level of the eyes of pedestrians and oncoming motorists. To provide such a shield would re quire that the beam emanating from the lamp 1 be covered by a substantially triangular guard extending forwardlv from the top of the lamp at C to a point B intersecting the horizontal plane H and having its lower edge extending forwardly horizontally from a point D at the bottom of the lamp. Considering that the beam strikes the roadway at a point A, say fifty feet in advance of the car, that theheight on the line EC from the roadway to the top of the lamp is forty inches and that an eight inch reflector is used (the distance C-D), the distance CB becomes approxlmately ten feet. This is. established by the formula that A. 0.x 0. D. ore.

derived from the two triangles A, C, E and B, C, D. A shield of such dimensions is, of course, impracticable.

From the formula, it will be seen that BC can be reduced by increasing C-E, the height above the roadway or by reducing A-C, the length of the beam or CD the vertical connection of the beam at its source. The range of the light should be at least from twentyfive to fifty feet andthe height of the light above the roadwayv is more or less fixed by automobile design. Reducing the other factor, the distance-CD, that is, the height of the reflector, to four inches which is about the smallest now available, the shield required corresponding to the distance C-B would still be over sixty inches andhence impractical.

In the forms of the invention illustrated in Figures 2 to 6, the difiiculty is solved by di-' viding the beam of light horizontally into six different sections and providing a miniature shield for each one of those sections. The lamp, indicated at 2, therefore has its beam divided by the shields 3, 4, 5. 6,7, 8 parallel to the beam, into sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8*, each of which is directed down onto the roadway and is covered so as to have the source invisible at a point above the horizontal plane H. These shields are relatively short, about six to eight inches for the full size lamp and so come within practical requirements, both from the standards of utility and appearance.

These shields are inclined at the top in accordance with the inclination of the beam or section of beam which they shade and have their lower edges horizontal. The upper shield 3 is shown rounded in accordance with the curvature at the to of the reflector and the other shields are indlcated as flat and as having side wings 9 dependent from the v edges thereof and extending downwardly from the flat inclined planes of the tops of the shields to the horizontal planes, constitutin the lower edges ofthe shields. The shields thus form a partially nested set of relatively smallpointed visors which may be attached to the lamp housing as a unit, or se arately as desired. 7 v 1 he size, arrangement and number of the side wings 9, as well as other details of construction may vary. For example, onlytwo side wings may be employed as indicated at 9 in Figure 5, these extending from the to reflector downwardly far enough to shiel ,the edges of the entire set of shields and terminating on a lower horizontal line corresponding with the lower horizontal edge of the reflector 8 in Figure 2. The shields may have rounded or stralght front edges as shown 1n Figure 3.

In the modification shown in Figure 6, only two wings 9 are provided but these spring from the edges of the third shield instead of from the top shield, the two upper shields bein closed in at the sides and the two lower shields being open at the edges beneath the wings 9 The under surfaces of the shields are preferably reflective so that said shields, with the side wings, will cast a certain amount of light for illumination of the sides ofthe road.

lVhen-viewed from in front, under normal conditions, that is, with the eyes at an ordinary level and the beam projected down the eyes of the drivers of oncoming cars on curves and turns in the roadway.

I The light shields of this invention may be applied to ordinary headlights.

The shields also may be applied to spotlights. A convenient method of applying the invention to existing lamps is to form the base of the shield'as'a clasp rin adapted to ousing, en-

-encircle the rim of the lam abling the shield to be quickly rectly to the front of the lamp.

What is claimed is:

attached diway a distance less than the normal level of the eyes of pedestrians on the roadway, a reflector directly behind said light source and arranged to project a forwardly and down-- Wardly inclined light beam onto the roadway a considerable distance in front of the source, of a plurality of forwardly projecting thin metallic shields arranged in closely spaced superposed relation in front of the light source and each parallel with the downwardly and forwardly inclined rays of the light beam and extending forwardly far enough to entirely cover that part of the reflector from which said shield receives its light, as viewed from in front with the'eyes on the plane of those of a pedestrian on the roadway, side wings flaring downwardl and outwardly from the side edges of the sli ields substantially to a horizontal plane in line with the forward edges of the shields. whereby thev light from the reflector will be con-,

cent-rated on the roadway at a useful distance in front of the source with side light illumination from beneath the wings and none of the direct light will be visible to pedestrians or drivers on the roadway.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of October, 1926.

NICHOLAS M MICHAILOVSKY. 

